Julian Assange and the public's right to know

December 12, 2010 — 3.00am

DURING the Vietnam War, Daniel Ellsberg released government documents now known as the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times. In response, the American government tried him for theft and conspiracy under the Espionage Act. The authorities also tried to steal Ellsberg's medical files in order to discredit him.

The Pentagon Papers exposed lies told by the US government to justify the war and their publication helped fuel opposition to the conflict. The charges against Ellsberg were eventually dismissed, the covert operations against him condemned. Ellsberg sees parallels between his case and the treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. ''People … don't want to admit that they oppose any and all exposure of even the most misguided, secretive foreign policy,'' Ellsberg said recently. ''The truth is that every attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time.''

Men such as Ellsberg and Assange, who are prepared to face the consequences of revealing information authorities would prefer to hide, help keep our system of government healthy and strong. Unfortunately, those in power tend to take a different view. The 250,000 confidential American diplomatic cables are the latest documents published by WikiLeaks. Previous documents on WikiLeaks have exposed how the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been fought. These leaks have been embarrassing to the governments involved - particularly the US government.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has condemned the actions of WikiLeaks as illegal - a short-sighted response. The Australian government is investigating whether Mr Assange has committed an offence, but has so far got nowhere.

In the meantime, Mr Assange has been arrested in England because of rape allegations made against him in Sweden. The opposition spokesman for communications, Malcolm Turnbull, said last week that as an Australian citizen, Mr Assange was entitled to return to Australia if he wished. In relation to the rape allegations, we should allow the legal proceedings to take their course, but it is true that the timing of the proceedings have led some to wonder whether there is some political motivation behind them.

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Critics of Mr Assange and WikiLeaks say that by releasing the confidential documents, the activist has put lives at risk. This has yet to be demonstrated, but certainly The Sunday Age does not support actions that would do so, or that would threaten national security. In releasing tens of thousands of documents, WikiLeaks may have made mistakes, but as a result of its actions we now know more about US and Australian diplomacy. And we have greater insights into how the US conducts its wars and determines its foreign policy.

WikiLeaks, acting with newspapers around the world including The Age and The Sunday Age, is publishing information that makes governments uncomfortable. This action affirms the role of the media, which have a duty to expose the secret machinations of those who wield power. In the US, the chairman of the Senate homeland security committee, Joe Lieberman, has suggested that because it published some of the leaked information The New York Times might be subject to criminal investigation. This would breach the First Amendment protecting freedom of the press.

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The Australian government's condemnation of WikiLeaks is also deeply troubling. Attempts to silence Mr Assange and those who work with him threaten the free flow of information that makes democracy possible. Such attempts are dangerous and must be resisted.

And another thing …

ANY smoker will tell you that where there's a lighter there's a nicotine addict. But, as a wise man once wrote, nothing is true forever. Now you'll find that where there's an electronic device that gives smokers a shot of nicotine and glows at the tip just like a cigarette, there's a nicotine addict in denial. But the devices, so-called ''e-cigarettes'', are banned in Victoria, may be dangerous to health and are especially hazardous to children when they leak nicotine, a schedule 7 poison. Like the device itself, e-smoking is ugly, uncool and unwieldy. E-smokers, who are also in denial about their social responsibilities, are emboldened to think that it's OK to use the devices indoors. But, as the tobacco companies know well, one thing will remain true forever: where there are smokers, there are easy profits. At least with e-smokers there isn't any ashtray breath.